Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“Are you going to find out the sex?”
We already know the sex but play along for Rosie’s sake. “Yes,” Hunter says. “I’m impatient to know.”
“Oh, I have a gift for you,” Goldie tells Rosie, changing the subject.
Rosie claps her hands with excitement. “What is it?”
Goldie reaches into her bag and pulls out a set of pink fluffy handcuffs that are currently a bestseller on Goldie’s Naughty Nights online store.
“Aiden is going to freak!” Rosie squeals, rubbing the fur against her cheek.
“Why? Does he like getting tied up?” Hunter barely conceals his displeasure at the idea.
“No,” Rosie says. “The other way around. She corrupted me with her kink.” Her finger jabs Goldie in the arm.
Goldie smiles proudly. “Just spreading satisfaction wherever I go!”
The food arrives, and there isn’t a free inch of space on the table. Goldie consumes her world's best burger with a passion that has only increased since she started growing two strong bear cubs. Rosie makes an impressive attempt to clear her plate. Me, Evan, and Hunter devour more meat than should be humanly possible, but then again, we’re not humans!
Goldie laughs at the satisfied purring noises our bears make when our bellies are full.
“I bumped into your mom the other day.” Rosie wipes her mouth on a napkin and lowers it as Goldie shifts in her seat.
“Did she talk to you?”
“Yes. She’s very unhappy. I wasn’t going to tell you, but I don’t want to hide things. Not when it’s about family.”
“It’s okay. What did she say?”
“She said that these three have corrupted you, and now you’re living in sin, and you’ve forgotten your family.”
“Of course, that’s what she said.”
“She’s not wrong,” Evan quips. “There has been a lot of corruption involved.”
“It was the other way around,” Hunter says, swigging beer and grinning wickedly. “Robert was ready to lock up that room for good, and little Goldilocks over here was all ‘let me in and try everything.’ It’s her curiosity that got her into trouble.”
I’m pleased that he’s lightened the mood. As Goldie grins proudly at her achievement, she forgets we were talking about her mom.
I hope that her family will accept us one day—at least the part of us that we can be honest about. People need roots, and Goldie’s family is a part of what anchors her in this life. I’m not holding out much hope, though. Some people can't see the good they have in their lives, preferring to wear storm-colored glasses that spread a gray tint over everything.
At least she has friends, and she has us. Maybe her role in our lives will bridge the gap with the wider bear clan. Hunter doesn’t think so. He’s holding a grudge over Connor’s treatment, but with cubs on the horizon, change is coming whether we like it or not.
I’m ready for whatever happens next. I'm ready to support Goldie as she becomes a momma, protect our sons, and make a good life for us all.
“You’re going to be an honorary auntie,” Goldie says as Rosie waves the handcuffs in Aiden’s direction. The poor guy blushes the color of the slice of tomato Hunter has left on his plate.
“I’m going to be the best auntie in the world,” Rosie says, clapping. “I can’t wait.”
40
GOLDIE
Five months later
The moon is one day from being full, and my bears are watchful and quiet. My belly is rounder than I ever thought possible; the skin is tight, and my navel is bulging now there’s no longer any space for it on the inside of me. I sit in a rocking chair in the library, reading a diary that I found nestled high on a shelf. It’s one of the triplets’ mother’s journals of the early days of her family, and it’s been beautiful to read.
I wish she was still here. She’d have made a marvelous grandparent and a great support for her sons and me. My mom, in contrast, has only doubled down on her disgust since she found out that I’m expecting. In a way, it’s a relief not to have to deal with her self-obsessed ramblings anymore.
I can guess how Robert, Evan, and Hunter’s mom felt when she was in my situation; three babies were squirming inside her, ready to enter a new world. It was a world filled with love and anticipation but also a world filled with danger, not dissimilar to the days I’m living right now.
The peace with the wolves is holding strong. There’s been no wolf scent on our land that extends for over a mile in each direction. I’m too tired to walk with my bears in the forest anymore. Still, I stay tuned into their communication as they continue to walk the perimeter, as the years of war keep them cautious.
If the wolves find a mate, a new generation of enemies will grow, they told me over dinner. They worry they’ll grow more aggressive when they have more to lose.